• Comedy in the Commons, as our friend Eric Pickles surges ahead with his localism bill. It's not about councils doing what they are told, he says. They can now do anything at all so long as it is not prevented by statute. "Apparently, the right hon member for Blackburn (Mr Straw) once argued that councils should not be allowed a general power because it would allow Islington to build a nuclear bomb," says Eric. "He is a much respected member of the house and his worries should be taken seriously. I have good news. The residents of Islington and the rest of us can sleep safely in the knowledge that the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, the Nuclear Explosions (Prohibition and Inspections) Act 1998 and the Nuclear Safeguards Act 2000 will prevent Islington council from obtaining weapons of mass destruction." That, and the other fact he could have mentioned: the cuts he has forced on that authority of £100m. Ask Tony Blair. WMD aren't cheap.

• For a man known to be sensitive to "sanctimonious little dwarf" jibes from Tory MPs, Speaker John Bercow can be a touch insensitive about the physical characteristics of others. In a speech to the Institute of Government – Whitehall's DIY shop for would-be statesmen – he made one little joke about the institute's boss (ex-cabinet member Lord Adonis) being rather thin, and another about his portly sidekick (top guru Peter Riddell) being, well, not thin at all. All this name calling. Enough of that, Shorty.

• More reaction to the unmasking of police undercover agent Mark Kennedy, whose mission to infiltrate the environmental movement may or may not have been exceeded by his decision to get jiggy with the female activists. Still, there is a long tradition of that sort of thing, isn't there, Mr Bond? There is outrage, but also there are memories for the likes of veteran troublemaker Pat Arrowsmith, now 80, who recalls how the honeytrap in all its forms was deployed three decades ago to gather titbits about the inner workings of CND. "They sent in this guy called Harry Newton. Very unlike Mark Kennedy. This was quite an elderly man in poor health. Not at all attractive. Still, he did form rather an intense sexual relationship with a CND activist in the north." There was never any possibility that Harry might benefit from pillow talk with Pat, for even then her lesbianism was a matter of public record. A young lady called Jackie, who approached her at the women's pond at Hampstead Heath fared much better in that regard. "We had a brief relationship but then she cooled very quickly and I think she quickly became aware that I was suspicious of her. Then she disappeared completely." It's a tough life living a lie and betraying your friends. But if you like "meeting people", this undercover lark does have its perks.

• Mohammed is not the most popular name for newborn baby boys, despite recent reports, conceded the Daily Mail yesterday. "While the surveys included the variants of Mohammed – there are no fewer than 12 – they didn't include versions of Oliver, such as Olivier and Olly. Had they done, Oliver would be number one, says a Radio 4-Open University study." So who should we blame for peddling this egregious nonsense. Oh look. "Mohammed is now the most popular name for baby boys ahead of Jack and Harry," said the headline last October in the Daily Mail.

• Finally, unintended consequences. For when on Monday, we directed your attention to the website AusterityMum – with its tips about saving money by cutting back on the use of helicopters and multimillion-pound renovation projects, the intention was merely one of spreading good practice. It didn't bother us that the author Lisa Unwin is the wife of Ashley Unwin, a bigwig at PricewaterhouseCoopers and that they subsist on squillions. But others have taken it all the wrong way and now, it would seem, amid a damaging controversy, access to this fount of financial wisdom has been blocked to all bar "invited readers only". According to the Telegraph, Mrs Unwin may stop the activity altogether. That would be a shame. But then, these things aren't rocket science. Take care of the pennies. The millions will take care of themselves.